What is the Catania outdoor escape game?
The Catania outdoor escape game is an escape room taken out onto the city streets: you move from landmark to landmark with your phone, and each of the 10 stops holds a puzzle that you solve by watching the surroundings and reasoning it through. Allow about 2 hours, with 34 minutes on foot over 2.5 km, and start whenever the day suits you.
Each puzzle is tied to one specific place: the Roman Amphitheatre, the Elephant Fountain in Piazza Duomo, Castello Ursino, or a stop along Via Etnea. The puzzles stand alone with no shared storyline, and if you get stuck, three levels of hints are available. Catania suits this format because the centre is compact, and its Baroque core, rebuilt in dark lava stone after the earthquake of 1693, offers plenty of details to study.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 34 min · 2.5 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
What you do on the escape game
Work it out
Solve the puzzle at each stop by watching the surroundings and applying logic. You need no prior knowledge of Catania.
Spot the clue
The clues sit in the details of each place, from the façades to the shape of the squares.
Walk
Google Maps guides you from stop to stop: about 34 minutes of walking over roughly 2.5 km.
Go at your pace
There is no countdown. Ask for a hint when you need one, stop for a coffee, and carry on later or another day.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of players. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Play when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who it suits
Friends
Each puzzle gives the group something to argue over at the next stop, and nobody has to know Catania beforehand.
Couples
A shared challenge that keeps you talking as you move from one landmark to the next, with no clock in the background.
Team building
Teams of up to 5 people each use their own phone, which makes it a practical option for colleagues.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- Best started in daylight, so you can see the details the puzzles ask about.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Teams of up to 5 work best; bigger groups split into several teams, one ticket per player.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
Puzzle route: from the Roman Amphitheatre to the Greek-Roman Theatre
10 stops · about 34 min walking · start: Roman Amphitheatre · finish: Greek-Roman Theatre
The first puzzle waits at the Roman Amphitheatre on Piazza Stesicoro, and the last one at the Greek-Roman Theatre on Via Vittorio Emanuele II. In between, the route follows Via Etnea down to Piazza Università, passes the Teatro Massimo Bellini and the Cathedral of Sant'Agata, reaches the Elephant Fountain on Piazza Duomo, goes through Porta Uzeda, and arrives at Castello Ursino before the final puzzle. Daylight makes the best start, since the game is played outdoors and rain or wind slow it down. You can change the order in the app, and no entry tickets are needed.
Open the route map ↗
1Roman AmphitheatreStart
Only part of Catania's Roman amphitheatre can be seen today, in a pit below street level in Piazza Stesicoro. It dates from the 2nd century AD and was built largely of dark lava stone. Most of the arena still lies hidden beneath the surrounding streets and buildings.
2Piazza Stesicoro
This large square on Via Etnea is named after the ancient Greek poet Stesichorus, who according to tradition is buried in Catania. On one side stands the monument to Vincenzo Bellini by Giulio Monteverde, unveiled in 1882, with figures from his operas around the base.
3Via Etnea
Catania's main street runs straight for about 3 km from Piazza Duomo towards Mount Etna, which on clear days rises at its far end. Rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693, it is lined with Baroque churches and palaces in dark lava stone and pale limestone, such as the Basilica della Collegiata.
Read the full story →
4Piazza Università
The square is named after the Palazzo dell'Università, seat of the University of Catania, founded in 1434 and the oldest university in Sicily. Its four bronze lamp posts tell local legends, among them Colapesce and the pious brothers who carried their parents to safety from an eruption of Etna.
5Teatro Massimo Bellini
Catania's opera house opened in 1890 with Bellini's opera Norma and was designed by the architect Carlo Sada. It is named after Vincenzo Bellini, the composer born in Catania in 1801. Its richly decorated façade fills one side of Piazza Bellini.
Read the full story →
6Cathedral of Sant'Agata
Catania's cathedral was founded by the Norman count Roger I at the end of the 11th century and largely rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693, with a Baroque façade by Giovanni Battista Vaccarini. It is dedicated to Saint Agatha, the city's patron, and holds the tomb of Vincenzo Bellini.
7Elephant Fountain
The symbol of Catania stands in Piazza Duomo: an ancient elephant carved from lava stone, carrying an Egyptian-style obelisk on its back. Giovanni Battista Vaccarini assembled the fountain in 1736. Locals call the elephant 'u Liotru, a name linked to the legend of Heliodorus, a sorcerer said to have ridden it.
Read the full story →
8Porta Uzeda
This Baroque gate on the south side of Piazza Duomo was built after the earthquake of 1693 to link the cathedral square with the harbour. It is named after the Duke of Uzeda, the Spanish viceroy of Sicily at the time. Through its arch you look down towards the sea.
Read the full story →
9Castello Ursino
Emperor Frederick II had this square castle with round corner towers built in the 13th century, originally on the seashore. In 1669 lava from Etna flowed around it and pushed the coastline back, so the castle now stands inland. Today it houses the city's civic museum.
10Greek-Roman TheatreFinish
Tucked among the houses of Via Vittorio Emanuele II, this theatre was built by the Romans, probably on the site of an earlier Greek theatre. Its tiers of seats are made of dark lava stone, and next to it lies a smaller Odeon. Houses still stand on parts of the curve of the auditorium.
Read the full story →
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Laura (verified owner) –